The Straw Woman
The Straw Woman is the sixth episode of te seventh series of the popular ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders and originally aired on 29 February 2004. Synopsis When Alex Deakin, the curate of the local church in Midsomer Parva is burned alive in the effigy of the straw woman, DCI Barnaby and DS Scott find themselves investigating what must be a murder. Many of the villagers lay the blame on Alan Clifford who has made his fortune in the sex industry and has moved into the local manor house. There were others in the village however that objected to what they saw as a pagan festival. When the vicar is also killed - he too is burned to death in what some believe is the result of spontaneous combustion - the police have difficulty keeping some of the villagers from taking justice into their own hands. As the death toll keeps mounting, Barnaby realizes that the solution is to be found in old parish records. Plot When a traditional festival is revived at Midsomer Parva, it goes disastrously wrong, with the curate (or assistant priest) being burnt alive inside a straw effigy of a woman. Local property owner Alan Clifford holds an orgy at the Manor House, and it seems he has secrets... And then, just after finding a pig's head on the altar of the parish church, the dead curate's gay lover, the Reverend Jim Hale, dies too, seemingly of 'spontaneous combustion' - that is, he bursts into flames without any normal explanation. Barnaby refuses to believe in rumours of witchcraft and is vindicated when it proves that Hale's clothes had been sprinkled with phosphorus. Then, with Barnaby hot on the killer's trail, Liz Francis is knocked out with a candlestick and becomes the third villager to be burnt alive. Cast *John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby *John Hopkins as Sergeant Dan Scott *Jane Wymark as Joyce Barnaby *Laura Howard as Cully Barnaby *Barry Jackson as Dr. George Bullard *Keith Barron as Alan Clifford *Maggie O'Neill as Agnes Waterhouse *Kelly Hunter as Kate Malpas *Susannah Wise as Liz Francis *Richenda Carey as Margaret Hopkins *Richard Cordery as Dr. John Cole *Jemima Rooper as Jo Clifford *Daniel Weyman as Matthew Cole *Jonathan Hackett as Rev Jim Hale *Martin Herdman as Jed Fox *Caroline Lintott as Sally Middleton *Sarah Ball as Denise Jenkins *Madeleine Rakic-Platt as Lucy Middleton *Alex Belcourt as WPC *John Warman as Policeman (uncredited) Galleries Body Count Placeholder person.png|Mrs. Cole Died of natural causes 1 year prior to the events of the episode. Alex-deakin.jpg|Rev. Alex Deakin Drank drugged coffee and then placed inside the Straw Woman which was set on fire. Jim-hale.jpg|Rev. Jim Hale Burned alive after clothes were covered in phosphorous. Liz-francis.jpg|Liz Francis Knocked unconscious with a candlestick and then burned. Supporting Cast Alan-clifford.jpg|Alan Clifford Jo-clifford.jpg|Jo Clifford Agnes-waterhouse.jpg|Agnes Waterhouse Margaret-hopkins.jpg|Margaret Hopkins John-cole.jpg|Dr. John Cole Matthew-cole.jpg|Matthew Cole Kate-malpas.jpg|Kate Malpas Jed-fox.jpg|Jed Fox Denise-jenkins.jpg|Denise Jenkins Sally-middleton.jpg|Sally Middleton Lucy-middleton.jpg|Lucy Middleton Episode Images The-straw-woman-01.jpg The-straw-woman-02.jpg The-straw-woman-03.jpg The-straw-woman-04.jpg The-straw-woman-05.jpg The-straw-woman-06.jpg The-straw-woman-07.jpg The-straw-woman-08.jpg The-straw-woman-09.jpg The-straw-woman-10.jpg Video Notes The following actors and actresses who appeared in this episode have also appeared in the following episodes *Caroline Lintott - Death in Disguise, Ring Out Your Dead and Sins of Commission *Sarah Ball - Blue Herrings *Jonathan Hackett - Who Killed Cock Robin? *John Warman - Ring Out Your Dead *Alex Belcourt - Bad Tidings, Sins of Commission, Things That Go Bump in the Night and Last Year's Model *Maggie O'Neill - The Curse of the Ninth *Richard Cordery - The Made-to-Measure Murders and The Killings of Copenhagen Category:Series Seven episodes